Tom Watkins: Telford Tigers will be tested
Telford Tigers head coach Tom Watkins expects teams to lift their game against his side, following Sunday night's 7-1 victory over Blackburn Hawks.
A fourth consecutive British Challenge Cup success means The Tigers are two points clear at the top of the northern section, and hold the only 100 per cent record.
That win was a useful tonic for Watkins's men, after a string of scoring chances were wasted against Basingstoke Bison in the league on Saturday.
That game ended in a 2-1 defeat, after overtime.
And with Blackburn also playing at a level higher than their usual NIHL performances, Watkins believes his side needs to realise they are now a "useful scalp".
He said: "We want to win every game we play. We got our points, which was great to see, so now we move onto tomorrow night's game against Swindon Wildcats at home.
"We dominated long stretches of the game against Basingstoke and had a lot of chances to score, but we came up against a very good netminder.
"Everyone sees us as a useful scalp and we watched how much it meant to the Bison when they beat us on Saturday night."
Nathan Salem was the scorer for Telford in Basingtoke, as both teams held out for penalty shots.
The next day, it was the turn of Jason Silverthorn (2), Blahoslav Novak, Callum Bowley, Scott McKenzie and Rupert Quiney to supply the goals.
That game was a typically feisty affair, with Telford and Blackburn sharing a total of 112 minutes in penalties.
Watkins added: "The NIHL teams will lift themselves for these games and we can't think that we'll just roll teams over.
"Basingstoke have a great squad and are very well organised, so it's never going to be easy. We have to realise that other sides won't just step aside for us."
Tomorrow night's home English Premier League clash with Swindon Wildcats starts at 7.30pm.
